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Sunday, April 14, 2013

Dante goes to Disney World

Dante and Amy on our way to Paris, Epcot

We did it! We went to Disney World with my whole family! I am so grateful for our first family reunion as adults with my three brothers and their families. This of course, was not a trivial pursuit for any of our families, it took months of planning an preparation to make sure we set the trip up for success. The most important item I added to my list was help. I delayed the decision as much as possible but my brother and my dad encouraged me to bring along someone who could help me with Dante. Bringing Amy along was the smartest decision of the whole trip. The fact that my dad offered to cover her airfare helped as well!

Mariana, Dante, Sophia, Giovanna, and Juliana

All of the kids had strollers, except for my most energetic niece. This made the days at Disney World and Epcot very comfortable. We got a special guest pass and a wheelchair pass for Dante, which allowed him quicker access to the attractions with up to six members of his party. My eyes watered many times when I observed just how many special needs children where enjoying the parks with their families. So many days we stay at home because most settings are not appropriate for Dante. Yet the Disney parks were extremely accommodating and of course, seeing other families with their own special kids makes one feel much more comfortable.

We did have a huge backpack filled with Dante's food, snacks, and water bottles. The only foods I really like at Disney are the soft serve ice cream or the great Gelatto in Italy, Epcot. So Amy and I snacked on almonds, chocolate bars, and water during our days in the park. The good food was prepared by my brothers, my mom, and my aunt when we got home.

Dante was just thrilled with the spinning rides and the flying rides. He enjoyed very much the Mad Tea Party, Dumbo's flying elephants, and the Magic Carpet rides. He also enjoyed the trolley ride from the parking lot and the monorail we took to get to the park! Street musicians had their number one fan in my little boy. He followed this one band around and we got to listen to two sets -- Dante was so into it we had to hold him back! When Amy said to Dante, "Say goodbye to the musicians, Dante!", He said "No!" and kept following them. We heard a lot of words and laughter during our vacation.

I will admit that some moments were very rough for me. Dante is blessed with high performing cousins, each special in her own way. All brilliant. The difference between my son's abilities and those of his cousins is not easy to ignore. All "typical" kids can enjoy so many things, it makes the limitations of ours that much evident. So after a few minutes of self pity I have to turn that around into even more energy to help my Dante improve to his best levels.And on that note I must say that the Glutathione I raved about on my last post keeps getting better. It has been great for me, giving me energy, mental bandwidth, and keeping my mind sharp. My parents took it during our trip and had awesome energy (I sent them a bottle for them to continue taking it). They were also very relaxed and handled all stresses super well. Dante is really benefiting as well. I can't say enough good things about it. Next time I blog I will go into more detail on how it has impacted us.